GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Q&A Highlights: James Gunn’s Influences, the Soundtrack, the Sequel, AVENGERS Crossovers, and More

These past few days have been like Christmas for Guardians of the Galaxy fans, as Marvel kicked its marketing campaign for the offbeat superhero pic into high gear with on-set interviews, new images, a new poster, and finally a new trailer. Just before the trailer was released, though, director James Gunn, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and castmembers Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, and Dave Bautista took part in a Q&A with fans on Facebook. Unsurprisingly they didn’t let slip anything too revealing, but they did offer some tantalizing hints and dropped a few interesting behind-the-scenes nuggets.

After the jump, we’ve compiled the highlights from the Q&A, including Gunn’s thoughts on directing the sequel and which characters he’d like to use, Easter eggs connecting to Avengers: Age of Ultron, the biggest influences on the film, the soundtrack, and Diesel’s thoughts on the “thousands” of different ways to say “I am Groot.” Read on after the jump.

During the Q&A on Facebook, when asked which influences he drew upon for Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn referenced both obvious and unexpected sources:

So many. One of the biggest influences was – and no one is going to expect this answer – Magritte’s Empire of Light paintings. I was also very influenced by many of the great space epics and science fiction films AND westerns like the films of Sergio Leone. Not to mention of course the comics, especially Abnett and Lanning and Jim Starlin.

Gunn was also asked how much backstory we’ll get for each of the characters and whether Hulk might play a role:

We find out a little about their pasts. No Hulk in this movie, sorry… We get a large part of Star-Lord’s origin. But there is always more to give up.

Speaking of “more”, Gunn confirmed that he’s contractually under option to return and direct Guardians of the Galaxy 2 if asked back, and he seems more than enthused about the prospect of returning:

I believe I am contractually obliged to do that whether I want to or not. But, of course, I’d love it. I love these guys so much – the guys at Marvel and the cast. They’ve become very close friends.

When asked whether there were any characters he fought to have included in the pic but that Marvel wanted to hold for a sequel, Gunn answered “no” but did have thoughts on who to include in a follow-up:

There are none I fought to have in the movie. However, I love a few of them. Bug was actually in a couple drafts, but he wasn’t utilized well enough. I’m a big Starhawk fan. But he isn’t in this movie. That’s why the future is so beautiful.

Gunn has now used “Hooked on a Feeling” and “Spirit in the Sky” to great effect in the trailers, but he promises even more surprises when it comes to the soundtrack:

Hooked on a Feeling is one of the songs on Quill’s mixed cassette tape – the last reminder he has of his childhood on earth. The music is also a way to keep us grounded in this out of the world space epic. We have lots of cool songs – more will be revealed soon!

Given that in the comics the Guardians eventually hook up with The Avengers, Gunn was asked whether his characters might pop up in in a future Avengers movie:

Well… not Avengers 2. We’ll have to see. I’m giving “We’ll have to see” as an answer to a lot of things.

Additionally, Vin Diesel was asked how many times he had to say “I am Groot” during the voice recording process:

Oh god… maybe a thousand? I don’t know. It felt like a thousand. James Gunn and I were having so much with it. So it could’ve been a thousand. And it was amazing to go in there and to work with someone who wanted to explore the character- we wanted each “I am Groot” to mean something different… It reminded me, as an actor, how much we can do with so little- and if we’re passionate about it, good thing can come from it.

We’ve compiled some of the other highlights from the Q&A below, but you can read the full thing over on the Guardians of the Galaxy Facebook page.

When asked whether there will be some Easter eggs for Avengers 2 or 3, Feige responded affirmatively.

The movie is around two hours long.

Gunn says the film makes sense whether you’ve read the comics or not, but specifically points to the Abnett Lanning comics if you want to read some before seeing the film.

The most beautiful scene of the film, according to Gunn, is with Groot.

There will be Easter eggs for fans of the original Guardians.

Gunn says he loves Rom: the Spaceknight, but unfortunately Marvel doesn’t own him. “I’d love to do a Rom movie,” he added.

Dave Bautista’s makeup application took four hours to put on and an hour and a half to take off.

Gunn says he had no problem delivering a PG-13 movie, adding he never felt like he was censoring himself.